About 50 UF students attended Tuesday night's Mind MashUp with laptops in hand ready to learn about open-source software.
The event was held by Florida Free Culture in Library West in honor of the the first international Open Access Week, from Oct. 19 to Oct. 23, which aims to broaden students' understanding of open access.
During the two-hour event, students learned to remix images, music and videos licensed under Creative Commons, an alternative copyrighting system, said Jennifer Griffith, president of Florida Free Culture.
Jordon Kalilich, secretary of Florida Free Culture, discusses Mind Mashup:
Kalilich explains Florida Free Culture's views on copyright:
Club members demonstrated how to use open source software programs like Audacity, Blender, Inkscape and The GIMP.
Griffith, a third-year electrical engineering major, said the club's goal was to raise awareness about the software resources that are available to students.
Griffith said the club hoped to "foster a spirit of innovation."
Angela Austin, a fourth-year anthropology major, attended the workshop.
"We need to increase free software in the way that we communicate and transmit ideas," she said.
Austin hopes society evolves past copyright. "It must come from people using the program, not the company," she said.
She said there is no way to avoid open sharing because it's a part of the culture.
"It's a digital age," she said.
